“What are you going home for?”

“Late-night snack, then sleep!”

Yin Feng asked again: “What kind of late-night snack?”

You Mingxu had already caught on to his tone and smiled faintly, answering: “Just ordered some takeout. What about you? What did you eat today?”

He unhurriedly described his lunch and dinner.

You Mingxu asked about his condition and recovery timeline. He answered everything, saying his recovery was going well, and he’d probably be able to get out of bed in about two weeks, though strenuous activity would still be off-limits.

A sweet, swelling emotion flowed silently through You Mingxu’s heart as she asked: “When do you plan to return to Xiang City?”

He just stared at her, his eyes deep and dark, answering: “In another week or two.”

You Mingxu thought for a moment before saying: “Don’t come back in just a week. Wait until you’re fully recovered before moving.”

Yin Feng said: “I know my limits.”

You Mingxu changed the subject: “How are Tu Ya, Xiao Yan, Jing Ping, and Meng Shan doing?”

Xu Mengshan had been texting her regularly about everyone’s condition, saying they were all recovering quickly, so she hadn’t asked for details.

Yin Feng fell silent for a moment.

You Mingxu: “What’s wrong?”

Yin Feng’s tone turned cold: “They’re all out of bed. Satisfied?”

You Mingxu almost laughed out loud but held back. Following an impulse, she softened her voice: “That’s because their injuries weren’t as severe as yours. Don’t rush to get up; I want you to recover properly.”

Their eyes met for a moment, and his expression had somehow completely softened. His direct gaze made You Mingxu feel self-conscious again.

He moved the phone closer to himself and asked: “Have you missed me?”

You Mingxu hadn’t had time or energy to miss him.

She immediately countered: “What about you? Have you missed me?”

He answered: “If you weren’t a police officer, I would have locked you up by now.”

He said it calmly, but You Mingxu’s heart skipped a beat. She thought, here comes his cryptic talk again. She said coolly: “Don’t try that stuff with me. I notice you haven’t contacted me either all these days. Seems like you missed me.”

Yin Feng gave a cold laugh: “Did you contact me? It’s been two weeks, I’m in the hospital, and you only thought of me today?”

You Mingxu stared at him, thinking: what am I doing arguing about this with him?

Then she realized—wait, he’s the one lying in bed all day with nothing to do. You Mingxu declared firmly: “No, that’s not right. I’ve been busy day and night, sleeping past midnight when you’re already asleep. I start work at dawn, sometimes too busy even to eat. What have you been busy with? Busy getting IV drips? Busy letting Chen Feng feed you? Why didn’t you contact me?”

Yin Feng fell silent.

Now it was You Mingxu’s turn to laugh coldly: “Well? Say something?”

After a few seconds.

He suddenly smiled a pure smile that radiated from his eyes and lips. He said nothing.

You Mingxu, who had been on the offensive, felt her heart struck hard. Her face grew warm.

After his smile faded, he said: “Ah Xu, when you miss me, just call me. Don’t hold back.”

You Mingxu: “Who’s holding back?”

He said: “Good night, baby.”

You Mingxu paused again, they looked at each other for a moment, and she said: “Good night.” Then hung up.

You Mingxu put down her phone and leaned back in her chair, thinking how such precious words became so cheap from his mouth, spoken as casually as breathing.

After thinking for a while, she couldn’t help but smile.

He was a psycho—she’d known that all along.

But from the next day, Yin Feng began sending her texts occasionally, sometimes asking what she was doing, sometimes telling her about things on his end, simply sharing passages from books he was reading.

You Mingxu hadn’t known this was how he’d be in a relationship—neither too clingy nor allowing himself to be ignored. Unlike Yu Yingjun’s warm sun, he was more like a cold moon, insisting on occupying a corner of her vision with his light.

You Mingxu still had endless work each day, dealing with bloody, gruesome cases. But each day felt somehow different. It was as if a warm, sweet feeling had taken root in her heart, occasionally tickling her. In the gaps between her busy schedule, she would unconsciously reach for her phone to check if he had sent any new messages.

Sometimes she would text him about cases she encountered that day, their messages reading like discussions between a detective and a psychologist, completely professional. Other times, someone would turn into a possessive child, coldly asking if she had thought about him today and how much. He even tried to seduce her, asking if she wanted to get intimate. You Mingxu remained composed, without a trace of embarrassment, shutting him down with one sentence: “Aren’t you still bedridden? And aren’t you not supposed to do strenuous activity?”

Yin Feng didn’t speak to her for two days.

You Mingxu rubbed her nose and thought that Ding Xiongwei was right—sometimes she felt like she had taken a wife. Why was it that even though she was the woman, she had to comfort him when he was upset? It wasn’t much different from when he was Yu Yingjun.

Another week passed, and on a warmer spring afternoon, Xu Mengshan and Jing Ping returned to Xiang City.

That day, You Mingxu was sitting at her desk, working on mountains of documents—all related to the series of Kaiyang Group cases. Suddenly, someone tapped her head. She looked up to see Xu Mengshan and Jing Ping standing before her, both smiling, looking sharp and proper.

You Mingxu immediately stood up and gave them both a good look: Jing Ping seemed almost unchanged, his complexion back to normal with no visible injuries. Xu Mengshan had even gained some weight.

“Finally back,” she said. “All healed up?”

Xu Mengshan said: “I could have been discharged a week ago, but Old Ding had me stay to look after Brother Jing, so we could return together.”

Jing Ping said: “Completely recovered.”

You Mingxu looked at him skeptically. Everyone had seen his injuries at the time—he had been as close to death as Yin Feng, who was still lying in Guizhou.

Jing Ping said: “What’s that look for? Besides the bullet wound, everything else was superficial. Once the gunshot wound healed, I was fine.”

You Mingxu couldn’t bear to recall how he had been tortured, but indeed, those injuries were meant to torture—they looked horrific and must have been agonizing, but weren’t life-threatening. It made sense that he could recover faster.

Jing Ping and Xu Mengshan had also thought of that time, but Jing Ping just smiled gently.

At this moment, others in the office gathered around, warmly welcoming the two back. Everyone spoke with genuine warmth, and they decided to treat the two to a welcome-back feast that evening.